The leader of Greece’s largest opposition party called on the government Monday to extend full diplomatic recognition to Israel immediately, or certainly before Greece assumes the rotating presidency of the European Economic Community on July 1.
Konstantinos Mitsotakis, head of the New Democracy Party, said if the government fails to do this, his party would recognize Israel the moment it comes to power.
Konstantinos spoke at a meeting with Israel’s diplomatic representative in Greece, Moshe Gilboa. Gilboa holds the rank of ambassador, but Greek relations with Israel are only on the consular level.
His remarks raised the spirits of Greek Jews and Israelis living here who have been upset by the Greek news media’s coverage of disturbances in the West Bank and Gaza Strip for the past month. It has been very negative toward Israel, both in the left-wing press and the government-controlled television.
According to informed sources, the Foreign Ministry is unhappy with the television coverage and has protested to the television authorities.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
